The Prism Courage traveled from the Gulf of Mexico to South Korea, making more than half a trip with its Level 2 autonomous system
Eliminating labor costs in the transport sector is one of the promises of autonomous driving. Just by adopting it, the logistics industry would cut its fixed costs by more than a third, making the advent of this technology pay off quickly, justifying its prohibitive cost.
And while the first instinct is to think of autonomous trucks or cars, the truth is that one of the sectors in which robot control makes the most sense is maritime transport. The latest development in this area is the Prism Courage, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker manufactured by HD Hyundai subsidiary Avikus.
The ship is specifically equipped with the HiNAS 2.0 system developed by Hyundai itself, a compendium of level 2 autonomous elements, analogous to that of cars. That is, it allows automatic navigation under certain circumstances, although it requires human supervision.
What HiNAS monitors is the direction of the ship, the weather conditions, the height of the waves and the direction of other nearby ships. While marine autopilot systems are nothing new,
andThis is much more advanced than those available on the market, which just stay on track.
The Prism Courage undertook a 33-day journey between the Gulf of Mexico and the Boryeong LNG terminal in South Korea, passing through the Panama Canal in between. Although the autonomous navigation was not active during the entire journey, it covered more than 10,000 kilometers between the two points, half of the total route.
Both the US (American Bureau of Shipping) and Korean (Korean Register of Shipping) authorities have monitored the navigation performance and according to their data, HiNAS has avoided more than 100 potential collisions and achieved a 7% improvement in fuel economy. . Emissions were also reduced by 5%.
For Avikus, this first step for the system is a step in the right direction for the US Agency (ABS) to certify and market it. To this end, the company is already developing a marketing campaign that promises to improve safety on board and fill the shortage of sailors.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
